Technology Use Scenario

Scenario #12: Matt enjoys taking pictures with his digital camera. His pictures are quite unusual and can be easily identified as his work. He wants to let other people see his pictures so he posts them on his website. A couple of months later he is surfing the Internet and sees some of his pictures on someone else’s website. At first he is flattered that someone enjoyed his pictures, but on closer inspection he sees that he is not credited anywhere on the site as the person who took the photos. The way the images are posted makes it seem as if the site owner had taken the pictures.

 In this scenario, Matt does not demonstrate technology use in an inappropriate way, however it could be a lot more appropriate if he had been using it more responsibly.  A right that individuals have as users online, is that they have the freedom to share their own personal content in trusting that other users will not partake in plagiarism of their work, which is further expressed by Ribble (2011), as he states "If they wish to make their creations freely available to the world, they should be allowed to do so."  Matt's actions in this scenario could be considered appropriate, if it is taken in the perspective of him wanting to share the work that he has created which is easily identified as his own.  Furthermore, as the pictures Matt has shared can be deemed unusual in a way that represents his work, and in a way that others know that they are his, his assumption that others will not plagiarize his work is not necessarily wrong.  Moreover, Ribble (2011) had also discussed what being a digital citizen includes which is having rights within the online world, but with these rights also come the responsibilities as well.  Therefore, there are also inappropriate actions involved in this scenario, which include someone else using Matt's pictures and neglecting to give him the credit for his work. 
The action of citing sources is definitely important, as Steinbach (2014) explains, because people who create their own work deserve to have it as their own; it belongs to them and is considered something of their possession.  Thus, not citing someone elses work would be the same as stealing from them.


In this scenario, Matt is not exactly using this technology inappropriately, however, he could be using it in a more responsible way. Users have the right to have the freedom to share their own content online and trust that other users will not plagiarize. Just as mentioned by Ribble (2011), “If they wish to make their creations freely available to the world, they should be allowed to do so.” It can be considered as appropriate because he wants to share his work which is easily identified as his. Since his pictures are unusual in a way that others know that they are his, it is not particularly wrong for Matt to assume that others will not take credit for his work. As discussed in Ribble (2011), being a digital citizen means having rights within the online world, but having responsibilities as well. This means citing others’ work and giving them credit in respect for their material. Thus, the actions within this scenario that are inappropriate, are that someone else had used his pictures without giving him credit for his work. Instead of merely sharing his work, Matt could have established ownership by creating a watermark. Watermarks are a simple and quick way to protect images by having a visible watermark stamped on them (Shu, 2013).